Improvement in self-acting lubricator



, W. B. HOWE.

SELF ACTING LUBRIOATOR. N0.103,61'7. Patented May31, 1870.

18: e km 1 @attn't dtlfilint.

amt swat WILLIAM'B. HOWE, oF'rRoY, NEW ORK.-

Letters Patent N 103,617, dated May 31, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ACTING LUBRICATOR.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may canoe r p.-

Be it known that I,'WILLIAM B. Hows, of the city of Troy, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a descriptiou .thereot', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in

. which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the lubrlca-tor with parts broken away, illustrating the improvements.

Figure 2 is'a vertical lateral section through the lubricator, and illustratcsa mode of attachment of the same with the parts to which it is to be applied.

Figure 3 is a vertical view of a section at;- line No.

'1 in'lig. 2.

" Figure 4 is a side elevation of a section of the improvements embodied in thisiuvention,-and illustrates the action of some of" the'parts of this invention.

Figure 5 is aside elevation of the wick-tube and pressing-sprin g, (taken at right angles to section shown in fig. 4,) and illustrates the mode of their connection and adjustment.

One-part of my invention relates to a wick which- "being to secure a constant and definite stretch of length of wick from the oil-chamber to the point of intended contact with the shaftto be fed, when inany position, and conduct oil to the said shalt.

Another part of my invention relates to the combination of a stiffened wick with a tube in such a manner as will preserve the wick in a fixed location,

so that the said wick will communicate directly from the oil-cup to the shaft, journal, or hearing, which it is intended to lubricate, under every circumstance of of position in which the whole device may be placed, the object of this part of the invention being to secure a steady and and reliable flow of oil from its chamber of supply, as demanded by the parts to be lubricated, when in motion or operation.

Another part of my invention relates to a combination 'of a spring furnished with a floor, witha wicktube which will be capable of forcing the wick in conof screw-threads with the wick-tube in such a manner as to make-the'said wick-tube capable of being the means of connecting the parts of the lubrica'tor to,-

gether, aud all with the parts to be oiled, the objectbeingQthe securing a sure closing of the oil-chamber, and'a close and direct connection in any desired line of direction of the lubricator with the bearing, shaft, or other part to be conuectedwith or applied to.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use -my invention, I will proceed to describe it in reference to the drawin s and the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicatinglike parts.

JIn the drawings-- A represents the oil-cup, which I prefer to make of metal. The said cup is provided with a nut-shaped flange top, a, figs. 1, 2, and 3', by which the cup can be screwed tight home to its place.

Bis a metal tube which communicates from the interior of the cup A to without the same, and receives the stifi'e'ned wick 0, throughwhich the oil will flow from the oil-chamber to the part'to be lubricated. The said wick 0 consists of a narrow thinstrip c of metal or wood, covered in its longitudinal direction with ordinary wick-yarn'd, or with other equivalent fibrous material, as shown in figs. 2, 3, and 4, and the whole is bound by the coils c, fig. 1. The said wick being thus coustructedjis rendered still by the narrow thin strip. 0 so as to be capable of maintainingits length of stretch when in any position or line of direction, and at the same time afford an unobstructed capillary means forthe movement or flow of oil throughout its entire length, while,hy the infolding coils e, the'wick-yarn d and-its strip 0 are held'in necessary union to preserve the desired length of stretch of length after the wick yarn cl infoldiug over the ends of the strip 0 have become worn away.

I am aware that wicks with metal rods or tubular strips have been used in combination with wick-yarn in lnbricators, but such wicks were constructed to form a wick-siphon, and'not as my wick is constructed, or for the same purpose, nor can the same direct results be secured with such siphon-wicks as can be secured by my stifl'ened wick.

Tile wick-tube B (I prefer to make of iron or steel) is furnished with a screw-cut portion f, by which the whole apparatus is to be attached and secured to the bearing, loose pulley, or other article, asshown in fig. 2,'to which it is to feed oil; the said tube B is also furnished with a squared flange or shoulder, g, and is capable of receiving and holding on a wrench, and to be. used when the tube is to be attached for lubricating, as intended.

A second screw-thread h is also cut on the said tube B, between the screw-thread f and the squared flange g, which screw-thread corresponds with the screw-thread cut in the opening in the cup A, and is intended to close the said cup, and at the same time (by means of the tube 13) connect it (the cup) to the hearing, or its equivalent, to be supplied with oil.

I alsocut on' the said-tube B, a third screw-thread at below the squared shoulder g,which is to receive a portion of a spiral spring, S, and admit of its being adjusted vertically, as shown in figs. 4 and 5, so as to secure a proper tension of the said spring, as may be required. The said spring Sis provided with a bottom or floor Z, on which the lower end of the stiffened wick is to stand. By the'said spring S, with its bottom Z, the wick O is pressed upward, so that its upper end will be held in constant contact .with the shaft it is to lubricate, as in fig. 2.

The cup A may-be made of any suitable form; is provided with a chamber, D, which is to hold the oil to be used.

This lubricator can he applied to advantage to most hearings or loose pulleys, eccentrics, connecting-rods, to cranks of engines, and many other parts of machinery or their adjuncts which are to be lubricated, and is intended to be attached to or near the lower side of any of the same.

The manner .of applying this invention to its intended place is as follows 2' The bearingor hill), or eccentric strap, or' other equivalent piece, with which this lubricator is to be used, is bored and tapped with a screw-thread on its lower side, that will correspond with the screw-thread f of the wick-tube B; when the wick O is placedwith: in the said tube B, the said screw-thread end f is then screwed into the same, as in fig. 2; this can be readily effected by the application of' any suitable wrench working on the squared flange g of the said tube B when screwed tight home; the'chamber D of the c'upA is filled with'oil and broughtwith its openscrew-threaded hole -upward,so as to receive the screw thread hunt on the portion of the tube B immedi-'- ately below the squared flange g of the said tube, when a wrench appliedto the squared flange m of the cup A, will enable the person to tightl-y screw the said cup A to its seat above (or on its packing) on the lower side of the hearing (or equivalent) to be lubricated. If desired, the cup A can have made in its top surface an-annular groove'furnished with'a screwthread to receive a corresponding thread made with the tube B.

The manner inwhich this invention operates in its several parts is as follows: The wick C, stiffened by-the piece 0, will sustain considerable pressure, and is prevented from bending to either side by reason of the tube surrounding, it; and, when the tube is screwed up in its place in the hearing, or its equivalent, as in fig. 2, the wick, which is considerable longerthan the tube, as shown is fig. 4, will be pressed down", as in figs. 1 and 2, and in dotted lines in fig. 4, sothat its lower end will nearly touch the bottom of thechamber D, and being thus pressed down, the lower end of the wick standing on the the same, as shown in fig. 2, so thatthe oil will flow to the wick from the chamber D through the spaces between the coils of the said spring, and by capillary attraction will rise upwardfthrough the wick-yarn d, and, aided by the continual licking of the shaft in contact with the upper end of-the wick,the flow of oil will be constant while the shaft is revolving. When, by the constant friction of the shaft on the end of the wick, the said wick grows shorter, the elasticity of the spring will carry up the wick and keep it in the desired eontact. When the "wick is new, the spring S .canbe lengthenedor thrown down on the lower end of the tube B, by unscrewing the said spring from the screw-thread x, to a: suitable distance, as in fig. 5, and,- when the wick has'become worn somewhat, the spring can be shortened lay screwing up the same on the said thread at, as in This lubricator. is inexpensive, and can be'readily attached to places where other lubricators will not operate or cannot be applied, and can be used with great advantage-and economy on locomotives, marine engines, stationary engines, and other machines, as well as to ordinary hearings or hangers for shafting. And the oil passedvfrom the chamber D through the I wick to the shaft,crauk'-pin, eccentric, or other part of a machine, 'will'be only what should be used. for lubricating, for no impurities can pass up through the wick. The ends of the wick can bechangsd when one has become too much worn, and the whole wick can be replaced at but a small'cost.

Having described'my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by, Letters Patent isv 1. In a lubricator, the perpendicular wick G,jstit'-' fened' as described, in combination with .the tubeLB, when the said tube communicates directly from'the -tially as and for the purpose set forth.

. 2. In a lubricator, thespring S with its floor Z, incombination with'the wick-tube B, 'substan'tiallyas. described, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a lubricator, the combination of the cup A, and wick-tube B, with'a stifl'ened wick, 0, supported by a spring, S, and floor Z, and all arranged substantially for the purpoie set forth. g

In testimony whereof I have, on this 19th day of May, 1869, hereto aifi'xedmy name in 'the presence of two witnesses, to wit 1;

W. B. HOWE.

Witnesses THOMAS Gywmcrn, JAMES H. DAVIS, JR.

spring floor Z, will operate on the spring S, and stretch oil-chamber D to the shalt to be lubricated, substan-- 

